Review: Static Season One #1

Milestone is back and the one book everyone has been looking forward to is the new Static Shock series. Static Season One #1 definitely delivers with a dramatic new art style courtesy of ChrisCross and Nikolas Draper-Ivey throwing out all the rules and using contrasting colors and backgrounds.

What’s even nicer is to contrast this dynamic new art approach with a very traditional superhero framework. The writing by Vita Ayala really calls back solid traditional teen superheroes like Chuck Dixon’s run writing Robin. Virgil Hawkins is an everyman gifted with new powers, dealing with friends at school, guilt over losing control and lashing out and balancing family at home. Superhero comics have moved so far away from telling stories of everyday people dealing with their powers that this more traditional approach is an incredible breath of fresh air.

The characters feel real, the family feels genuine and the story is one of neighborhood bullies who just happen to be superpowered lashing out against those around them. It very much captures this moment of our society where school and the streets feel more dangerous than any mustache twirling supervillain.

Add to this a strong supporting cast, with Darius providing exposition through his podcast, Frieda, Caroline and Richie as his network of friends, and Virgil’s family slowly falling apart since the Big Bang which gave Virgil and so many others their powers. Milestone’s return clearly comes from a place of social consciousness and this story is clearly immersed in that consciousness, but it’s focus is squarely on the life and worries of Virgil and those he loves.

The art is spectacular, whether it’s a scene of Virgil talking to friend, or an astounding display of his Static powers. The final scene with Francis returning to bully Static and his family and set fire to their home is horrifying, mostly because the creators have done such a great job of making us care for these characters and their world in such an incredibly short time.

Static Season Season One #1 is a great start to what will hopefully be a long run and the beginning of big things to come for the Milestone Universe.

Writing: 4.4 of 5 stars
Art: 5 of 5 stars
Colors: 5 of 5 stars

Overall: 4.8 of 5 stars

Writing: Vita Ayala
Art: Chriscross
Colors: Nikolas Draper-Ivey
Publisher: DC Comics

Author Profile

M.R. Jafri

M.R. Jafri was born and raised in Niagara Falls New York and now lives with his family in Detroit Michigan. He's a talkative introvert and argumentative geek. His loves include Star Wars, Star Trek, Superheroes, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Films, Comics, TV Shows, Action Figures and Twizzlers.